A Blast From the Past
by mjf2468
Summary: Another one of Oliver's enemies from the island comes to Starling and is bent on revenge. Oliver, Diggle and Felicity are captured and tortured as part of the revenge by this unknown enemy. How does Oliver deal with his two friends suffering because of him? Will they survive, especially without any one to rescue them? Takes place in Season 2, before Sara joins the Arrow team.
1. Chapter 1: Fun and Games

Disclaimer: Characters owned by WB/DC, not by me. I only own any original ideas found in this.

 **AN: Hi! Thanks for checking out this story. This is something new for me. I'm going to try and write more whump in this story than I have before. No promises to be super whump, because I am still learning. And it might be short on plot, but still working on that as well. It was an idea that wouldn't go away.** **Anyway, please enjoy!**

 **This takes place early season 2.**

It was dark. And uncomfortable. Oliver first became aware of a constant pain in his head, throbbing in time with his pulse, he was sure. His eyelids felt so heavy, despite having an undeniable urge to finally open them. He realized his arms were restrained behind him, as well as his legs. Feeling cold cement behind him, Oliver realized he was sitting against a wall. He struggled to remember what brought him here, but was unsuccessful. Until he heard a moan. A definitely feminine moan.

Felicity!

He opened his eyes, and semi-darkness met his inquiring gaze. The view swam in front of him as he attempted to clear his fuzzy brain. Attempting to focus, he was able to make out the petite form across from him.

"Felicity! Are you okay?"

Faint moaning met his question. Oliver watched as Felicity struggled to regain consciousness. He watched as her head attempted to roll in an upward position to meet his eyes. "Oliver? What happened?"

"I can't remember either." Oliver jumped at Diggle's voice coming from the other dark corner of the room.

"Dig, are you okay?"

"I think so. Bad ass headache though. Nothing else, I think."

"Felicity?"

"I think I'm okay too. So, we don't know what happened?"

Oliver shook his head in another attempt to clear his head, but was only met with a slight dizziness. He tested the restraints around his hands, noting no give whatsoever. Eyes roaming around the room, Oliver noted one small window high above, with bars on it, and a small pine wood door. Dirt floor. Cement walls. Yep, clichéd prison.

"I'm correct in remembering we currently have no open cases, right? Because I can't remember. Which is unusual because I remember everything, right?" Felicity asked as she began to wind herself up into one of her infamous babbles.

Oliver chose to interrupt her before she went too far. "No, you're correct. We have no open cases at the moment."

"But loads of old enemies with grudges, however," Diggle said with a grimace.

"You are correct, Mr. Diggle." A strange voice interrupted them. No distinguishable accent. Coming from a tall man shrouded in darkness in the doorway.

Oliver squinted, trying to recognize the man, but wasn't able to. Nothing appeared familiar. The man, whoever he was, apparently knew all about them, however. The fact Oliver was wearing the Arrow costume minus his mask made him even more uncomfortable.

"Who are you, and why are we here?" Oliver asked, even though he doubted he would get a straight answer.

The man laughed in answer, turned and nodded. Two other men walked into the room towards Diggle, unlocked Diggle from the chains and began to drag him out the door. Oliver couldn't help himself; he called out, "Wait! What are you doing? Where are you taking him?"

The man apparently in charge turned back towards Oliver, and said, "Don't worry, Mr. Queen, you'll find out soon enough."

Oliver watched him leave then turned towards Felicity. Felicity looked back at him with wide eyes. "You don't know who that is, Oliver? And where they're taking Dig? And why?"

"I have no idea, Felicity. But I don't think we're going to like it."

"He seemed to imply he's an old enemy of ours."

"It appears so." Oliver was about to continue when they were interrupted by loud cries of pain. Oliver watched as Felicity jumped and gave a little shriek.

"Is that Diggle?"

Oliver was afraid the answer was yes. They never had discussed Diggle's experiences in the military much, but Diggle had never mentioned being tortured. Oliver was unhappy to now be the reason Diggle was now experiencing it. As the screams and cries of pain increased in both frequency and intensity, Oliver found himself getting more and more tense. He purposely tried not to think of what Felicity was thinking about as she was listening to the sounds of their friend being tortured.

Finally the sounds stopped. Oliver only hoped it was because the torture, whatever they were doing, had stopped and not because Diggle was now unconscious. Or worse.

The men returned, dragging a half-conscious Diggle, whom they threw on the floor. Unmanacled. They then turned towards Felicity.

As they walked towards her, Oliver attempted to stand up, forgetting his ankles were bound together. Instead of standing, he fell back to the floor. Looking up, Oliver watched as Felicity attempted to be brave but knew she was afraid and trying not to scream.

"Don't you dare take her! Take me instead, I beg you!"

The unknown head guy said from the doorway, "Mr. Queen, don't you worry. Your turn will be coming up next."

Felicity attempted to break free from her captors, dragging her feet unsuccessfully, as they left the room. Oliver attempted to break his bonds without any luck. He attempted to tamp down his anxiousness without avail as well.

Trying to distract himself, Oliver tried to observe and catalog Diggle's injuries. Their captors had removed Diggle's shirt. Diggle had welts across his chest and back, multiple bruises already darkening and what appeared to be open wounds from a long knife cut diagonally across his abdomen, slowly bleeding.

"Dig? Can you hear me?"

"Mmm, Oliver, don't feel so good," resulting in Oliver worrying about the possibility of broken ribs.

"Hang in there. We'll get out of this somehow," Oliver could only despair at the stupidity of making such an inane statement, but he couldn't think of anything else to say. He was also desperately trying not to listen for the sounds he was dreading he was about to hear.

And he was correct. Again, screams could be heard coming down the hallway. Intermixed with cries of "Help me, Oliver!" It tore his heart. He wondered if they were forcing her to call out like that. He was positive Felicity wouldn't willingly say such things on her own. How truly diabolical. Yet another way to torment him.

It went on for what seemed forever, but Oliver was sure it was only fifteen minutes. He steeled himself as he heard footsteps approaching the door again. The two henchmen entered, cast him a particularly gloating look and brought Felicity back to her corner of the cell. They dumped her on the ground like a bag of potatoes.

Oliver quickly assessed her condition, breathing a sigh of relief to see her chest rising and falling in regular intervals. However, she appeared unconscious, with small amounts of blood flowing through her shirt from several long cuts crisscrossing her abdomen. Her shirt was torn in several places in the back from the whippings she had received but hid the severity of her injuries from his concerned eyes.

Oliver swallowed as the two men turned to him and unlocked his manacles. He was prepared to pretend to go willingly then burst into frenetic action. However, he wasn't prepared to receive from behind a burst of electricity from a Taser, and the world turned dark.

He woke shirtless with his arms suspended between two posts, his feet barely able to reach the ground. Looking up, his gaze was met by the steady one from the man supposedly in charge standing in front of him.

Oliver was now able to see him more clearly. The man was wearing jeans and a black, short-sleeved T-shirt, revealing well-developed biceps. His upper body gave Diggle a run for his money. He was wearing a balaclava, concealing his face and hair. Oliver still didn't recognize anything familiar about this man. If he were an old enemy, Oliver had no idea who it could be.

"Who are you?"

"You still don't recognize me, Oliver?" Oliver watched as the man slowly removed the balaclava. His mouth was slightly misshapen, his nose twisted from a bad break, and a huge scar ran down the right side of the man's face. But it was the eyes which caught Oliver's attention. Suddenly he recognized the man.

"Hendrick."

Indeed, standing in front of him was Hendrick Von Arnim. The man whom Sara turned over to Slade in exchange for Oliver when on the island.

"Surprised to see me? Thought I was dead? Or didn't you spare me a thought since you left me to the devices of that sick man Slade?"

Words failed Oliver. How could anyone blame him for not giving Hendrick or any of those other men a single thought? That last battle with Slade on the Amazo gave Oliver the impression they and Sara were the only people on the ship. He and Sara hadn't run into anyone when they were looking for the cure. No one else had surprised them except Slade. And then of course he had been taken away from the island by Waller. So he never had the opportunity to wonder about any other those men.

"I thought…we thought…all of you were dead."

"Again, you and that slut Sara only worried about the two of you. No, after I wasn't able to fix the engine, he left me for dead on the upper deck. The rest of the crew swam for the island."

"Is he the one who gave you…gave you that…"

"This scar? My new look? Yes, yes he was. In retaliation for not being able to fix the engine. That you broke."

"I didn't break it. Slade did."

"He told me all about it. Multiple times, as he took out his anger in torturing me. He damaged the engine when taking out his anger on you. After you caused the death of the woman he loved."

A sudden chill went through Oliver. He was suddenly very afraid for Felicity, for quite a different reason. He only prayed he was wrong. He also prayed he hadn't reacted to the statement. Hendrick's statement proved him wrong.

"I've seen how you look at her. The blonde in the next room. Felicity." Hendrick slowly walked towards Oliver, gripped Oliver's chin in his huge hand and forced Oliver's head up to meet his eyes. "And here I thought you'd still be with that slut."

"I'm not with Felicity."

"But you care about her. What happened? She smart enough to refuse you?"

"We're just business associates." Oliver said, meeting Hendrick's gaze with one of his own 'Arrow' looks. "And friends. Only. Just friends." Oliver prayed Hendrick believed him, but again he was proved wrong.

"We shall see about that." Oliver didn't like the way Hendrick smiled at him. "But first, we got some unfinished business to get to."

Hendrick turned and walked towards a duffel bag on the floor. He knelt down, zipped it open with a flourish and again looked at Oliver with a small smile.

"This is only the beginning, Queen. I will make you suffer so much more than Slade did."

 **AN: Yep, I'm leaving it there. Hope you found this interesting, for my first attempt. If you like, let me know. Hope to see you next time with chapter two, soon.**


	2. Chapter 2: The Games Continue

Disclaimer: Characters owned by WB/DC, not by me. I only own any original ideas found in this.

 **AN: Thank you for all the great reviews, favs and follows! It does an author good, that's for sure.** **Just to clarify, this story is taking place mid-season 2. Sara has returned, but not fully operational as a member of the team, as yet.**

Oliver watched as Hendrick carefully studied the tools of his trade and took a cat o'nines out of the duffel bag. _I really hate that thing, Oliver thought._ Hendrick walked towards Oliver with an especially evil expression on his face, his eyes shining brightly with homicidal eagerness. He slowly walked behind Oliver. Oliver braced himself as the leather tore into his back once again. Willing his mind calm with one of the meditation techniques he had learned on the island, Oliver kept memories of past experiences with the whip from entering his mind. He fought to keep the pain within a controllable amount. Until he couldn't.

Oliver lost count of the strikes, but when he'd almost lost consciousness, suddenly a different type of pain ripped across his back. Oliver recognized the sting of a deep cut from a knife. "Oh, did I wake you up, Oliver?" Suddenly Hendrick was in his face, holding up a very sharp butcher knife. "Now, I will take pleasure in reopening those scars Slade gave you on the island." Oliver couldn't help but feel the next slice of the knife along his abdomen. Hendrick continued to deliberately slice open his chest and abdomen, displaying a sadistic talent in getting the most pain out of the least amount of bleeding.

The pain eventually overloaded his senses, as the slices and cuts continued. Despite himself, Oliver found himself screaming. "There, I knew we could reach this point. I'm amazed it took this long." Through the pain Oliver heard the satisfaction in Hendrick's voice.

Through a cloud of pain, Oliver sensed Hendrick walk away. Before he knew it, his body jerked violently in a series of shocks. "And now, we have our old friend electricity. I remember fondly how you loved this when Slade did it to you." A chuckle escaped his lips, then Hendrick said, "Let's see if you've improved the number of circuits you can withstand."

Oliver again attempted to withhold his screams of pain, but he wasn't able to. Oblivion mercifully came after the third round of shocks; his body collapsing weakly.

~~OQ~~FS~~OQ~~FS~~OQ~~

Consciousness returned with a bang, after fits and starts, as well as memories of the past hour seeped into his mind. Despite his desire to check on his teammates, Oliver couldn't open his eyes yet. He struggled with riding out the waves of pain which were occurring everywhere, as well as the nausea accompanying it.

"Oliver! Oliver, can you hear me? Can you tell me how you are?" he barely heard Felicity's voice over the pounding in his head and the rhythmic bouts of pain with each respiration.

Gentle hands stroked his hair, his forehead, along his jawline. Oliver forced his eyes open to find Felicity looking down at him with concern clearly in her eyes.

"Fe-li-ci-ty," came out softly and with great effort.

Looking up, Felicity directed her comments to someone across from her. "At least he still remembers me. That's a good sign, right, Dig? I don't know, there's so much blood. I just don't know." Oliver faintly registered the panic in her voice.

Leaning down to his ear, Felicity said, "Oliver, we tried to patch you up as much as we could. These animals brought us water and bandages, but nothing to stitch you up with."

"How….how are…," Oliver managed to push out between uncooperative lips.

"Me and Diggle? Oh, Oliver, why do you do that? We're okay. We fixed each other up. Those animals did give us some ace bandages to wrap up you guys' ribs." Her lips curled up in disgust. "Animals."

Oliver had barely enough energy to feel the beginnings of a smile form on his lips at his "I.T. girl" having the quirkiest remarks even at such a time as this. He suddenly felt sleepy again and unable to keep his eyes open any longer. The pain was almost too much to bear.

"Oliver! Don't you dare go to sleep! You should stay awake for a while longer."

Diggle asked, "How's his pulse?"

Oliver felt a gentle hand applied to the side of his neck, checking his apical pulse. "Stronger, and now 62. Good." Felicity looked down to capture Oliver's eyes. "It was 42 before. You had us worried."

"Let's sit him up, Felicity," Diggle said.

He felt another approach him on the other side, and he was gently brought to a sitting position. Closing his eyes, he concentrated on breathing slowly to control the dizziness and nausea. After the waves seemed to have decreased, he forced himself to look at his other side and saw Diggle looking grave, who quickly schooled his features into an attempted smile.

"Glad to see you up, Oliver. You did have Felicity worried."

Feeling a little stronger, now that he had regained some of his equilibrium, Oliver asked, "Anything…I missed?" in between pain spasms.

Felicity started one of her word babbles. "Nope. Well, that guy Hendrick did say some things when he brought you back here. But…"

"But nothing noteworthy, Oliver," Diggle rushed in, interrupting Felicity, shooting her a quick glance.

Oliver managed a small Arrow-like glare at Dig. He could tell Diggle was trying to hide something. "What he say?"

"I said as soon as you wake up I would take your girl and have some fun with her."

Oliver's head whipped to the doorway, where Hendrick was leaning against the doorjamb. Oliver tried to wrestle out of Felicity's arms and stand up, but Felicity and Diggle were able to restrain him. Oliver had to shake his head to combat the sudden dizziness brought on by his rash actions. Anger and fear for Felicity gave him strength to look Hendrick in the eye and at least attempt to convey a serious threat. "You wouldn't dare. I won't let you." The adrenaline flowing through his body helped combat the weakness from his injuries.

Hendrick laughed. "Yeah, right, Oliver. You're not even able to sit up without your girlfriend's help." At Felicity's glare, he chuckled. "Yeah, you're a spitfire. But I like my women a little more... cooperative." Walking into the room, Hendrick crouched down to be at Oliver's eye level, but not within his prisoners' reach. "Had you going, though, didn't I?"

"Hendrick, you're going to regret this."

"Again with the empty threats." Hendrick shook his head. "I really don't see that happening."

"I never make empty threats."

Hendrick's face betrayed the slightest grimace, informing Oliver his warning had some effect, if only for a moment. Hendrick didn't back down. He held Oliver's gaze for ten seconds before rising.

"Hendrick, what's this all about? Surely this isn't all about simple revenge?"

"My revenge is not simple." Hendrick's lips curved into a small smile. "And I will leave you here to think about what else it could be. And allow you three to 'rest'. Never fear, I'll be back." He laughed. "To resume our games."

Oliver sensed Felicity was about to say something. He grabbed her lower arm and squeezed it lightly. Oliver breathed a sigh of relief as the moment passed and Hendrick left in silence, locking the door behind him.

"Thanks for not saying anything Felicity."

"I guess an arm squeeze is one way to stop my word babble." Felicity shuffled slightly in order to make Oliver more comfortable. "Do you think Hendrick has any other agenda?"

"Wonder what he has going on," Diggle said.

"I don't know. I never really got to know his background. At all."

"What exactly was he, Oliver? What did you know of him?" Diggle asked, with a slight amount of steel in his tone, as if he expected Oliver to attempt to avoid answering.

"As far as I knew...he was a prisoner of Ivo's." Talking was only a little bit easier. His body continued to rock with pain. "Like the rest of the people on the ship." Oliver swallowed, riding out yet another wave of pain. "I never did know the whole story."

"Oliver, try not to talk too much. Save your energy." Exchanging a glance with Diggle, Felicity said with a grimace. "For once I'm telling him not to talk. What a switch."

Oliver gave a short laugh, which was cut off by a painful spasm, as Diggle couldn't help but roll his eyes. Felicity shrugged.

"We got to get out of here," Diggle said.

"Copy that," Oliver said with a touch of bitterness. "Any ideas yet?"

Felicity leaned in to whisper in Oliver's ear, "Well, I did activate my tracer in my industrial piercing."

"But we're all here. There's no one to read it." Diggle whispered back.

"When she notices us missing Sara will check the Foundry," Oliver managed to get out between spasms.

"Does she know what to look for?" Felicity asked. At Oliver's look she said, "Oh yeah, that's right. Member of a club of deadly assassins. Right."

"Man, we should've come up with a contingency plan for all of us being nabbed," Diggle said with a sigh.

"Felicity isn't ever supposed to be danger. That's why I didn't come up with any such plans."

Felicity jumped slightly at the snarl distorting Oliver's usually handsome features and the accompanying low growl. However, her indignation was evident as she stated, "Oliver, what an asinine thing to say. Why would I not be in as much risk of danger as either of you at any one time?"

"Probably not helpful," Diggle said softly.

"Now's probably not the best time to discuss this," Oliver said through gritted teeth.

Felicity's reply was cut short by the look Diggle gave her. "Okay." She sighed. "So, it's possible Sara will come find us. What else can we do in the meantime?"

Diggle looked at Oliver, concern clearly showing on his face. "I think we should rest and conserve our strength."

Felicity attempted to assist Oliver lie down more comfortably. Felicity and Diggle exchanged another glance as Oliver fell asleep quickly. Diggle leaned back onto the wall, choosing to stay somewhat alert. Felicity cautiously laid down next to Oliver, keeping her eyes on him until she fell into an uneasy sleep.

~~OQ~~FS~~OQ~~FS~~

Sara made her way down the stairs to the Lair. She thought it was strange Oliver hadn't come back to the mansion all night. Since her return to Starling, she had been staying at the Mansion with Oliver. During her stay, he had been consistent with informing her when he was working late on "Arrow" business. When she woke up and he was still gone, she decided to check the Lair for whatever information she could find. Her repeated calls and texts to Oliver remained unanswered, and her attempts to find numbers for his associates unsuccessful.

She had only been inside the Lair a few times, and Oliver hadn't really given her a grand tour. It was impressive, especially considering he had done all the work himself. Not exactly what she would've expected from the young kid she grew up with, but exactly what she would from the man who had survived Lian Yu. Sara wandered over to the weapons case, trailing her hand along the drawers, opening a few at random to see what was inside. Certainly impressive, the weapons he had chosen. An eyebrow rose as she observed the area where Oliver made his arrowheads. Very impressive indeed. Clearly he had set this all up never expecting assistance from others.

A glint of metal caught her eye, and she looked up at a salmon ladder. Images of Oliver's workout on the island filled her mind, and a sigh escaped her. She wondered if some wounds would ever heal for him. Smiling she took in the punching bags, exercise mats, and targets in the back of the large room. Oliver had almost everything a modern-day vigilante needed to work on his own.

She turned when a computer pinged. Walking over to it, Sara gasped when she saw Felicity's name on the screen with a GPS map showing a blinking dot. From the little blurb of information on the screen, Sara saw the signal was indeed a tracker placed inside Felicity's industrial piercing. She opened another screen to check whether obstinate Oliver had a tracker on him as well. She found only one old file from last year. Exhaling loudly in disgust Sara turned her attention to gathering other intel.

Sitting down in front of the computer, Sara's fingers flew as she gathered as much information as she could. She first started facial recognition searches for all three members of the 'Arrow team', as Felicity liked to call them. She then called up the security plans for the building, which was an old warehouse in the Glades, of course. Hacking into traffic cameras, she searched for any confirmation they were brought to the building.

One more thing before she left. She decided to call her father. He ended up arguing with her, as she knew he would. However, even though it cost her several valuable minutes, she was able to convince her father to agree he'd be on stand-by. Only if he didn't hear from her within an hour would he and his colleagues storm the building.

Only after she had gathered all the information she needed, and grabbed several weapons, Sara hurried out of the Lair and got in her car. Even though she got some information, on-site surveillance was needed to further plan her attack. She wished Oliver was at her side, not having to be rescued, but she still was confident she could rescue all three, if they truly all there as captives. If only she could have figured out who was holding them and why.

 **AN: Thank you so very much for reading and following this story. Guess it will be longer than a two-shot, and guess there is more of a plot than I originally thought. Reviews are always welcomed and appreciated.**


	3. Chapter 3: How to get out of this mess

Disclaimer: Characters owned by WB/DC, not by me. I only own any original ideas found in this.

 **AN: I wish to thank you for returning to read this final chapter of the story. I hope you enjoy it.**

Previously:

 _Only after she had gathered all the information she needed, and grabbed several weapons, Sara hurried out of the Lair and got in her car. Even though she got some information, on-site surveillance was needed to further plan her attack. She wished Oliver was at her side, not having to be rescued, but she still was confident she could rescue all three, if they truly all there as captives. If only she could have figured out who was holding them and why_

After reaching the building where she believed the missing vigilantes were being held, Sara parked several blocks away and made the rest of the way on foot. With the hacking into the security tapes of the building she had discovered six people in the building. Three of the images stayed in one room, while three others roamed around the various rooms on the first floor. Because of this intel, she was certain that all three vigilantes were there, as well as only three kidnappers.

She found a vantage point where she could see both the front and a side entrance, and watched for thirty minutes. There was no activity noted, and she was comfortable with the next step. She cautiously entered the building via the side door, keeping her eyes and ears peeled for any cause for alarm. None was heard, so she continued to make her progress into the building. There was a hallway, which she knew led to the room where the three forms were. Suddenly hearing someone approach, Sara hid behind a corner. When the man came into view, Sara was able to quickly administer a choke hold, rendering the man unconscious. Sara dragged the man into the room close by and closed the door. Listening for the possible approach of the other two men, Sara snuck a look around the door jam.

All was quiet, so she made her way down the hallway, looking for the other henchman. She assumed Hendricks was with his prisoners. Suddenly she heard approaching footsteps and ducked into the nearest doorway. As the second henchman walked by, Sara caught him in a chokehold and crab-walked him into the room. As he lost consciousness, Sara lowered him to the floor.

Two down, one more to go.

~~OQ~~FS~~OQ~~FS~~OQ~~

Previously:

 _Felicity's reply was cut short by the look Diggle gave her. "Okay." She sighed. "So, it's possible Sara will come find us. What else can we do in the meantime?"_

 _Diggle looked at Oliver, concern clearly showing on his face. "I think we should rest and conserve our strength."_

 _Felicity attempted to assist Oliver lie down more comfortably. Felicity and Diggle exchanged another glance as Oliver fell asleep quickly. Diggle leaned back onto the wall, choosing to stay somewhat alert. Felicity cautiously laid down next to Oliver, keeping her eyes on him until she fell into an uneasy sleep._

"I hope you got a good rest. You will be needing it."

Oliver jumped, being startled out of his sleep by the sudden voice of their abductor. He looked at Diggle, who shrugged and said, "Sorry, I fell asleep as well."

Oliver looked up at Hendrick, again leaning against the door jab with a smile on his face. "What do you want now, Hendrick?"

"Funny you should ask that, Oliver." Turning he nodded to someone out of sight. The two men from before again entered the room and walked towards the Arrow team. "I do believe we will start today's fun and games with you, Oliver."

Diggle and Felicity attempted to protect Oliver, but they were pushed aside roughly. The two men grabbed Oliver by the forearms and brought him quickly to his feet. Despite the rest, dizziness clouded his vision and preoccupied his thoughts, preventing him from attempting an escape. His feet dragging behind him, Oliver found himself being taken to the room where he had been before. He attempted to escape the grip holding him, but it was impossible due to the weakness from the blood loss and injuries. His arms were held up and Hendrick once again placed the manacles around his wrists. Smiling, Hendrick pulled on the chain, and Oliver found himself strung up once again.

"I have to say, I'm getting bored with your so-called type of games," Oliver said in an attempt to appear nonchalant to cover up his fear.

"Nice try Oliver. Let's see, should we start with something different? Or should we just go to the fun of electricity again?"

Oliver tried to steel himself for what he was afraid of what was to come. As Hendrick went back to his duffle bag, Oliver was dreading what else he would take out of it. Hendrick pulled out a bullwhip and turned to face Oliver with a sinister look on his face.

"Nothing like using the classics, right Oliver?" Hendrick cracked the whip several times, appearing to take extreme enjoyment hearing the crack. He then turned and walked slowly behind Oliver. "Yes, today, I will start…" Oliver watched as Hendrick appeared in front of him. "On your front." Hendrick looked up and down Oliver's chest, bound with gauze and ace bandages. "Sorry to disturb your colleagues' wonderful attempt at repair, but I still have some scores to settle with you."

Suddenly, loud noises were heard from outside the room. Hendrick ran out, leaving Oliver to wonder what was happening. Oliver could now hear what sounded like a fight, with the sound of an altercation interspersed with cries of pain.

~~OQ~~FS~~OQ~~FS~~OQ~~

Sara entered the hallway, intent on finding Hendrick, when she narrowly avoided a head shot from the man himself. She struck out at him in a flurry of strikes and kicks, attempting to get the upper hand.

"You bitch! Oliver didn't tell me you were in town. How nice of you to arrive."

Hendrick was far more skilled at fighting than Sara remembered. He matched her punch for punch, kick for kick. However she feigned weakness after one of his punches. Hendrick got cocky and attempted to take advantage of her weakness to get her in a choke hold. Before he could, Sara grabbed his arm, twisting it backwards and flipped him into the wall, where he hit his head. Attempting to regain her breath she waited to see if he'd get up again. When Hendrick stayed crumbled in a heap on the floor, Sara nodded and ran into the room from which Hendrick had exited.

~~OQ~~FS~~OQ~~FS~~OQ~~

Through spasms of pain, Oliver saw a vision in black, blonde hair flowing, coming towards him as Sara ran into the room. She rushed to Oliver's side and wasted no time in checking his condition.

"Oh, Oliver. I'm so glad I found you. What did Hendrick do to you? I was so shocked to find he was the one who had kidnapped you."

"Thank God you found us, Sara. I don't know what we would've done."

Sara examined the set-up binding Oliver. "Have you been chained up all night?"

Knowing she was concerned about whether they had to be careful about blood rushing into his limbs once he was lowered to the ground, he replied, "No, I haven't been strung up too long, so you should be able to lower me by yourself without difficulty." Otherwise, if he had been strung up for hours, he would've needed to be lowered slowly to avoid complications in circulation.

"Where are Felicity and Dig?"

"In a room down the hall."

Pulling out a set of keys, Sara said, "Luckily I didn't have to search Hendrick totally to find these. He had them in his side pocket." She unlocked the manacles and supported Oliver as he almost fell to the ground. "Oh! I forget how heavy you are," Sara said as she shifted her weight to support him.

"Let's get Felicity and Diggle and get the hell out of here."

As they walked into the hallway, Oliver noted Hendrick lying on the ground. He resisted kicking him as he passed by, but only because he was afraid he would fall over. Besides, he needed to get them all out of there as soon as possible. The others needed medical attention.

Suddenly, Oliver almost lost his balance. Sara barely made it over to the door of Digg and Felicity's cell before she was about to lose her hold on him. She gently guided him to the floor, turned to the door, tried several keys, and found the correct one. She opened the door and said loudly, "Hey guys, it's us. You can come out."

Felicity peeked out. "How'd you know we were waiting behind the door, ready to hit someone on the head?"

Sara looked at the other woman and smiled. "You're so cute."

Felicity rolled her eyes, then quickly went to Oliver's side and knelt down. "Are you okay? What else did Hendrick do?"

"Luckily he didn't have time to do anything else. Our cavalry arrived in the nick of time." He looked up at Sara and smiled one of his bright smiles.

Felicity was about to say something when sirens were heard. Oliver looked at Sara in alarm, then down at his outfit. His Arrow outfit.

"Oh. I didn't think about that." Sara shrugged. "I told my father to wait two hours. I guess he jumped the gun."

Thinking quickly, Oliver nodded towards Hendrick and said, "Take off his slacks. We're about the same size. I'll stash my leathers somewhere."

"But wouldn't the police think it odd? Him not wearing any pants?"

"I don't care. Let's do it."

They completed the transfer just in time for the police to enter, with Lance taking the lead. He stopped suddenly as he observed Oliver lying on the floor, in an undershirt and jeans, with Sara standing over him, and Diggle and Felicity watching them.

"Oh, Queen, I hadn't realized you were here."

"Yeah…um, this former employee of ours had a grudge against me. He decided to take it out on me and some of my employees."

"Humph," escaped from Lance, who then shook his head. Looking at his daughter, dressed in black wearing a mask, Lance quirked an eyebrow and asked, "And what do we call you?"

"A concerned citizen. I…..I heard screaming in here and decided to investigate. I found all of this."

Lance rolled his eyes at his daughter, ensuring she was the only one who saw it. He wasn't too impressed with her cover story. Turning to his colleagues, he instructed, "Load these three up. Smith, did you call for an ambulance?" As he left to carry out his duties, Sara sighed and decided to make her exit.

Lance returned and looked at the three teammates. "That guy really did a number on you three. Now, you will go to the hospital and get treated. We will take your statements there." As Oliver was about to say something, Lance stopped him with a look. "I said, all of you," he looked at Felicity and Diggle, then back at Oliver, meeting his eyes headlong, "will go to the hospital and get checked out. No arguments. Wait here."

Oliver watched as the detective stormed off. Before he could say something, Felicity said, "Don't you even think about it, Queen. You heard what the man said." She added softly, "Remember, possible broken ribs."

Oliver reluctantly agreed, and didn't make a fuss when the paramedics arrived and took the three of them to the hospital. He even, more reluctantly, agreed to stay overnight for observation. Felicity was shocked, but decided it was to show team solidarity. Because Oliver knew neither Felicity nor Diggle would stay either if he didn't. Felicity would be the first one to admit, though, they had gladly resorted to subterfuge to get the stubborn man to accept help.

~~OQ~~FS~~OQ~~FS~~OQ~~

After all three of them were discharged the next day, Diggle picked up carryout from Big Belly Burger for them. Eating their lunch in the foundry, Team Arrow was able to decompress after their ordeal. Sara also was there, now gladly considered to be part of the team.

Oliver looked at some of his closest friends and wondered again how dare he expose them to such dangers. It was almost a daily battle for him, struggling to control his overwhelming need to control the lives of his loved ones. Protect them from harm. Keep them safe. He knew, if he dared to even express such thoughts, the individuals sitting in front of him would practically skin him alive. But he couldn't seem to help this inclination of his.

"Ollie, I know what you're thinking. And you're wrong."

Oliver looked at Sara, who was smiling at him with her "smart aleck" grin he had once loved so much. "And what is that?"

"I'm sure I speak for these two, but we all decided to help you with this mission of yours. It's not your fault Hendrick came after you for revenge and took them as well."

"But it is, since you brought it up."

Felicity glared at Oliver. She stood up, walked over to Oliver, and punctuated her speech with carefully spaced pokes in his chest with her brightly painted finger nail. "You are not the boss of me. Or Diggle. We decide what we want to do. What we choose to sacrifice our lives for."

"But…"

"But nothing, Mister. You listen, and you listen good. I have told you repeated times, it is my life, my choice. I can walk away at any time, if I choose. I choose to be here and help you, and Diggle."

Diggle decided he better speak up as well. "Man, I know you have this overwhelming need to try to control everything in your life. But you need to get over it. We're a team; we are in this together. You gotta start believing that, okay?"

Oliver looked at the group in front of him. A small smile began to sneak across his features. "Well, all I can do is try. And I will."

"That's all we ask, Oliver," Felicity said with a bright smile. Returning to her seat, she picked up her burger once again. "Now we should finish our lunch."

A lesson learned, a new team mate added. What more could a man want, Oliver asked himself as he watched Sara tease Felicity with Diggle observing with a sly smile on his face. No matter what happens next, Oliver was determined to do what he could to continue to keep his loved ones and his city safe. No matter what.

 **AN: Thank you again so very much in reading this short story. For something I thought might only be a one-shot did grow into something a little more. With even a little personal growth for Oliver thrown in. Definitely AU at this point of the series, ha. Anyway, if you like, a review would really be appreciated. Thanks again so much!**


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